Okay. That was awesome.
With this final episode, AKB0048 managed to surpass itself. It was a really cheesy episode, and yet everything just worked. With this, I really understand
why Shoji Kawamori was assigned to oversee this project: he really knows how to create an animated musical. I mean, I have a lot of problems with Macross Frontier, but it really was one of the few series to have nailed the animated musical (other examples of this done right are the Nerima Daikon Brothers and Beck). This was a wonderful climax that had his name all over it.
And meanwhile, I guess that the plot of it all makes sense here: apparently Lancastar is this special planet that these fairy-things really like. That’s why the current generation of AKB is so special: there are a lot of people from Lancastar on it. At this point this remains a mcguffin, of course, but it’s good to have some sort of reason behind everything right now.
AND OMG YES< SECOND SEASON! It'll probably be very different from the first season, and my guess is that there are two ways it can go: more light-hearted and away from the criticism, or completely insane. The thing is, that both can work, because at this point, the cast is more than strong enough to carry this series. Every character right now is likable and engaging to watch. The idol commentary was great to watch, and I'd love it if the creators would carry this further in the second season, but I also won't mind it if they will focus on something completely different there. This series doesn't just have potential, it has potential for many different possible directions. Rating: (Awesome)
Wow, I was definitely surprised at your rating for this finale. I thought that what with all the cheesy plot devices in use, the eye rolling way Nagisa recovered her voice and continued “My Cherry Boy” from Chieri, and the big question mark about the Center Novae still left unresolved, I anticipated a ‘Disappointing’ rating from you. Lo and behold, you rated it ‘Awesome’, and I couldn’t agree more with you on that rating.
Sure, with all the cheesy moments in this episode you could probably prepare some cheese fondue for 50 people, and DES again shows their incompetence when fighting against a bunch of little girls, but I just couldn’t hate this episode. In fact, I was grinning idiotically from start to finish, turned off my brain from thinking too much about all the plot holes, and strapped myself in to just enjoy the spectacle that unfolded.
Still, I’m really glad that a second season is already in the works, because as of last week, I was wondering if they could satisfactorily answer all the remaining questions in just one episode and still give us a good closure to the series. Although the lack of WOTA’s fighting with RPLS’s (Rocket Propelled Light Sticks!) and itasha mechas in this episode was a tad disappointing. 🙂